Culture Shock show goes on despite rain, hail, music continues

For the second year in a row, WIUX’s Culture Shock was forced to change locations at the last minute due to inclement weather.

While moving last year’s festival from Dunn Meadow to the parking lot across from McNutt doubled the costs for the student-run radio station, this year’s move to the Bishop saved it nearly $1,500.

Because WIUX no longer had a use for rental tents or sound equipment, they were not charged the full price for the rentals.

Event managers from WIUX arrived at Dunn Meadow, the planned location of the festival, at 6 a.m. to find the field flooding and no sign of a break in the storm on the  radar.

“We called the rental company and found out they couldn’t set up a tent while it’s raining,” Special Events Director Alex Bulli said. “It seemed kind of silly because we got a tent because it was raining.”

Bulli knew they would need to change locations, and Dan Coleman, talent buyer for the Bishop, saved the show.

Bulli said he called Coleman at 8 a.m. Saturday and explained the predicament. Coleman wasted no time in preparing the Bishop for the nine-act show.

“It was good to see that we could do an event of that scale and time,” Coleman said.

“It was zero hours notice, but it worked out. It was good all around.”

Because a Culture Shock after-party was scheduled to take place at the Bishop, WIUX already had the venue reserved.

The show kicked off at 2 p.m., as scheduled, and was free. The only two differences were that attendees were able to stay dry and that the venue’s guests had to be 18 years or older.

“Fortunately, not that many people under 18 come to the festival, so it worked out,” Bulli said. “If anything, parents with kids would stop by for just a second when it was in the meadow, so I don’t think we lost anyone who really wanted to go.”

Because of the indoor venue, however, the festival could not fit the usual 1,000 attendees. The Bishop has a capacity of about 250 people, which it hit relatively early.

Bulli said he left the Bishop to grab some things from the WIUX station.

“It was almost full when I left, but when I got back, it was completely packed,” he said. “I was really blown away by that. There were already 50 or more people that wanted to be inside.”

Bloomington resident Brittney Miller said that although she had to wait outside before getting in, it was worth the wait.

“I’d rather wait outside for 20 minutes and enjoy the show in a comfortable environment than listen to the bands with soggy shoes and heavy clothes,” she said.

Bulli said that if it had been a nice day in Dunn Meadow, an outdoor venue would have been better. WIUX did not think it was worth spending nearly $7,000 just to make the festival happen in the rain, he said.

“It was an awesome time, and it was way easier to change location than I thought it would be,” Bulli said. “Despite the problems, it was definitely a success.”